It is really great to come back to the Bermondsey Boy site,it looks great and makes me feel good after a long time away.Born in Bermondsey in 1944 in Pages Walk near the Vic pub,went to WebbStreet school in 1955 Tower Bridge secondary school Riley Road and Cordwainers Tec College 1958 to 1959.Moved out of London in 1972 to Kidbrooke,1982 moved along to Shooters Hill Road,2004 moved to Strood Kent,2009 moved to Hythe Kent. It would be nice to hear from old school friends Raymond Shepherd Wally Simpson,David Pizzie,Michael Axford and many more but at my age you wonder. Ray Reddin.

Hello Ray,I should have been born in Pages Walk but the war messed that up along with lots of other things, woman in labour were often sent to less dangerous places like Woking were l was in fact born in 1943. Mum took me back to Harrold Estate were l lived. My first school was Webb Street an then onto Tower Bridge, as with many of the Bermondsey boys and girls on this site our pathes would have crossed even though we may not have been friends.l am hoping to be more involved in this site again as it is a great place to be.

Hi Rod,Good to hear from you, as you say our paths must have crossed all those years ago. I was born in 1942 so we would have been at Webb Street School at the same time, then onto Tower Bridge, though I wasn’t there long, they decided that they could do without me, but that’s another story.In fact, it was the best thing for me only I never liked Tower Bridge School from the day I arrived. It caused a bit of a problem for my mum only she couldn’t find a school that would take me, hence going of the manor to John Harvard in Union Street, Borough. Well Rod looking forward to you getting more involved with the site, only it does get rather lonely at times, in the mean time have a Good Christmas and All the best for the New Year to you and the family.Ray (kiwi)

Post from Old Site. I grew up in the 60s on the Old Kent rd..My folks owned the corner shop. Ossory rd/ Old Kent Road..I went to Coburg rd School...Have fond memorys of playing on the bomb sites ( and there was a lot of them ). My best friends at the time were,, Tony Sparks from coopers rd..Colin Warwick from the prefabs down Glengal rd. Pat and Danny Gillingham..Still see Tony from time to time..Although i now live in California i still follow Millwall and bump into Tony in Budapset,,Anyone remember the Avondale youth club and the ruff tuff and tumble club..Remember our yearly camping holiday,,we thought we were in another country,,we actualy went to Sidcup..Lol Sidcup for two weeks camping...Bermondsey in my heart..Andy Hewitt/ California USA.By britarms.

Original Post by ardfat (2011)I started my driving career at Hatchers in Bermondsey street in the time the horses were being retired. I remember being amazed at the power and size of them, the blacksmith who used to shoe them was in the street opposite behind Nicky Nastress sweet shop. I moved on to work for Halpin’s in cherry garden street, up at 3am pick up my lorry (TK Bedford with a 40-foot trailer) and off up the A40 to Wales. Pick up carpet underlay from Dunlop’s factory in Brynmawr and back down to London again. Drivers I remember Ray Cornish, Brian Myers, who in later years had his own Transport business (BJ Myers ltd) would be nice to know what happened to him. Moved on to Richardson’s of Hull, opposite the Lilliput Hall pub by the drill hall, my lorry there was an 8-wheel AEC Mammoth with a dangler (30mph flat out) too hot in summer freezing cold in winter. Richardson’s of Hull, vehicle’s in Transport Topic, could one of these be like the one you drove.? Kiwi.

Original Posts by John Miller Born in Bermondsey in 1950, the eldest of four children born to Rose & John, all my family lived there. My Grandfather and Grandmother (May & John) lived at 120 Amos estate ( Mays Cafe ) which was opposite an oil transport company ( Younghusband & Barns ), my Father was a Stevedore in Surrey docks as were most of my relations. He left the docks in the early fifties to become a lorry driver and then went on to become a Publican and licensee of The Queens Head 33 Paradise Street from around 1962 up to 1968. and then on to The New Portland Arms in Wandsworth up to 1972. Both my Father and Grandfather are in the documentary Walk Down Any Street calling time in the usual manner for Publicans. Every night was party night for me imagine having your front room being a bar every night and you get the picture, sadly both my Father and Grandfather have passed on but great to see them in the documentary again after all these years.Many happy memories of Bermondsey and still a big chunk forever locked in my memory.John Miller

Hi John.I’ve been trying to remember the name of the café on Amos Estate for ages, and then up it pops. We used to stop there most afternoons on our way back from East London to Bricklayers Arms Depot; I was working as a van boy on the railway then, round about 1958/59. I see your Grandmothers name was May, was the café named after her and would she be the lady who served us. Can still remember the beans on toast I used to have, also though I could be wrong as It’s such a long time ago but did your Nan make bread pudding and sell It in the café, it just rings a bell. Strangely enough I would not be surprised if your dad had not pulled a pint for me when he was in The Queens Head in Paradise Street. Kiwi.

Hi Kiwi.Yes, was probably my grandmother that served you and the cafe was named after her, bread pudding which I do believe was on the menu and another few favourites were bread and dripping & bubble & squeak to name a few a proper transport Café.John.

Today’s Bermondsey is not my Bermondsey but the memories stay the same, Kiwi.

POST BY denise101Hi I lived at 20 Ilderton Rd and went to Ilderton Road then the Aylwin school.My dad was born in the house and my nan lived upstairs.I remember most of the shops near my house. The dr's then Welchs, there was O'Briens - one shop sold cooked meat & next door sold dried goods and was an off licence. There was Stan Ross the chemist, a butcher, café & a plumbers merchant. On the other side of the road was a baker, greengrocers (Hales?), post office, haberdashery, hair dressers, fish shop, butcher and Putts.I have fond memories of the area. I remember the grocers on the corner of bramcote grove/barkworth rd. There was a shop on the corner of Ilderton and Delaford which my mum called the egg shop - I think this was because they had the egg stall down the blue. I remember going to the library in Spa Road and Spa bakers. My parents were friends with Milly & Tim Back who had the grocers on the way to the blue, it was on a corner of a road off Linton road. I used to drink in the Fort in the 70s.Be great to hear from anyone else from the area. denise101

Original post by rodebdon 2009I was born in Bermondsey in 1943 or to be accurate in Woking, thats where pregnant women in labour went to give birth during the bombing.I don't remember anything about the war (or my early years in an air raid shelter) but I asked Mum She said the bombs were bad but the rockets were realy bad. Our playground in and on the bombsites was a by-product of that, I went to Webb Street School and then to Tower Bridge Secondery Modern. Manzes was the best pye and mash I still go there for a treat, Edwards Doughnuts coming out from the back of the bakers being shaken on the tray of sugar nothing is as good as that now. We lived at 39 Harold Estate,I remember a few people, my freinds Peter Feddon and Jimmy Rolf, Mary Ashdown lived down the landing at 41. Tha Grange Road Baths were I thougt I would learn to swim but didn't it had a little room were you could by a cup of Oxo a piece of bread for one and a half pence. My Dads pub was The Victoria Arms,(I pop in there sometimes to) The Men would leave there on the Beano with the pennys and half pennys thrown out of the windows for us.On a Sunday some of the old ladies would take a jug of beer back to have with dinner. Ther were no cars parked in Pages Walk or Webb Street,The Cart Horses stabled of Linten Road were more familier to us. Guy Faulks Night was great, the fireworks compaired to the one's we have now were poor but the hole thing, the bonfires on the bomesites the excitement of something realy special,even if the jumping crackers didn't jump, the rockets just about left the ground and the bangers just went pop it was great. Ther was so much more Hop picking, saturday morning pictures at The Trocket, the beach at Tower Bridge, Trams, collecting jam jars, newspapers and things for salvage and with luck after a day of collecting perhaps 4 pence to share between the gang. To go back there seems to be no sence of shared comunity,but perhaps its just me.Sorry I still can't spell.

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Hi Rod (rodebdon), a great lot of memories there for quite a lot of us. A cup of OXO and a piece of bread, my mouths watering just thinking about it. I’ve got to try this again and I bet it won’t taste as good as it did way back then, I also remember Jimmy Rolf.Cheers Ray (Kiwi).

Post by Vossy53. I was born in Guy’s Hospital and we lived in Guinness Buildings in Pages Walk, Bermondsey (Just off the Old Kent Road). My Mum was born in the flats and lived in Guinness's until about 15 years ago. The flats were large Victorian blocks built by the Guinness Trust for poor people. There were Guinness Trust buildings all over London. The flats were not luxurious by today’s standards but by Victorian working people’s standards they were a luxury and a great improvement on the slum housing that they replaced.In Pages Walk, there were four large blocks of buildings and each block had about six entrances. These entrances let to concrete staircases and there were four flats on each landing. The size of the flats varied, but most were just two rooms. A living room/kitchen (this had a range run by coal or gas but no running water or electricity) and one bedroom. The toilets and sinks (two of each) were outside the flats on each landing and were shared by 4 families.The baths were in two separate blocks and it was possible to bath on only two days a week. My grandfather, George Horton, was one of the caretakers (they were called porters) and one of his duties was to stoke the boilers to heat hot water for the baths. The baths were in cubicles and you had to pay the porter (I think it was 2d) and he would run the bath for you. There were no taps; the porter had the brass tap which fitted on the square spindle to operate the tap, so you couldn't take extra hot water.There was no electricity in the flats, all the lights were gas mantles. There was electric light on the communal landings.I lived there as a small child until about 1958 and they eventually put in electricity in about 1960/61.

My Mum remembers one of the neighbours getting a TV and plugging it in to the light socket on the landing.All the women used to take turns scrubbing the communal stairs and landings and they were always spotless. Once a week, the bag wash man came around. He used to shout out and then all the windows would fly open and white bags of laundry would come flying out. Woe betide anyone walking past.My granddad used to sweep the roadways and paths every day with a great big broom. I remember standing on the brush end while he swept with it. He was my hero, but he used to chase the kids off the shed roofs and bins. He lived in a house next to the flats where the alleyway went into Leroy Street. He used to lock the metal gate at the Leroy Street entrance about 5 o clock every afternoon and people had to walk all the way round to Pages Walk to get home.The flats were demolished in about 1970 and brand-new flats were built. They are still there.We moved away to Guinness Buildings in Kennington Park Road (where we had our own bath) and they are also still there. This description of the flats makes me sound ancient, but I am only talking about 45 years ago in central London! I am only 56 myself. I am still an ardent Millwall supporter, but I must be the only Bermondsey boy who doesn’t like Pie and Mash!!!!!!!! I used to love the peas pudding from Young’s butchers in Tower Bridge Road and pints of cold sarsaparilla from Baldwin’s in Walworth Road. We used to pretend it was beer. Like granddads. My whole family lived in Bermondsey from about 1860. My other Nan was a Basham and they lived in Keyes Road (formerly Alfred Street) just of Grange Road and opposite the Town Hall. Most of my ancestors were Carmen. I do have a brilliant picture of my other granddad Charlie sitting on a wall in Cooksey’s scrap yard in Pages Walk. He is surrounded by bales of paper going for recycling (who says recycling is new).Nearly all my family, including me, worked in F. M. Meyer Chamois Export in Weston Street Off Long Lane. My Mum and dad met there in the late 1940s and they are still going strong today.None of us live in Bermondsey now but Bermondsey still lives in us!!!!!!! I am very proud to tell people that I am a Bermondsey boy.

Vossy 53

More information & pictures in Pages Walk Topic.

Last edited by kiwi on Sat Apr 14, 2018 12:50 am, edited 1 time in total.